Mosaiska församlingen i Norrköping

  • The Jewish (Mosaic) congregation of Norrköping
Identifier
Mosaiska församlingen i Norrköping
Language of Description
English
Dates
1775 - 2010
Level of Description
Fonds
Languages
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Hebrew
  • Swedish
  • Yiddish
Scripts
  • Hebrew
  • Latin
Source
EHRI

Extent and Medium

Around 40 archival volumes.

Textual records.

Biographical History

The archive contains the records of the Jewish congregation of Norrköping, one of the towns where Jews were first allowed to settle according to the so-called Jew Ordinance (Judereglementet) of 1782.

The small Jewish congregation in Norrköping had an essential role in the care and rehabilitation of Jewish survivors who arrived in Norrköping and the nearby area, which included the Doverstorp refugee center, in 1945. A few of the survivors did not recover but died soon after their arrival. The community arranged their burials.

Due to decreasing membership numbers, the Jewish community of Norrköping finally dissolved as a religious congregation. In 1995, the community reconstructed itself as a corporate body in charge of the synagogue and burial ground, and the congregants became members of the Jewish community of Stockholm. A society called Friends of the Synagogue of Norrköping Society (Föreningen Norrköpings Synagogas Vänner) in the preservation of the synagogue and occasionally arranges religious services and cultural events there.

Archival History

Created by the Jewish congregation of Norrköping, founded in 1782. Deposited and transferred to the City Archive of Norrkpöping in 1999.

Acquisition

Deposited by Friends of the Synagogue of Norrköping Society (Föreningen Norrköpings Synagogas Vänner) in 1999.

Scope and Content

The archive, which is the Jewish congregation of Norrköping’s congregational archive, is structured thematically in a number of series, each containing a number of volumes (boxes). Some of these volumes include documents related to the Holocaust. Most importantly, there is one volume (F 4) that includes documents relating to Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany and Holocaust survivors who came to Norrköping, and the refugee aid and relief work of the congregation, from 1938 to 1961. This includes calls for donations (1942–1949) and subscription lists (1942–1945) while the largest part of the collection consists of correspondence with refugees and potential refugees, other Jewish communities and relief organizations and government authorities on refugee issues (1943–1956). Finally, there are also newspaper clippings, lists of refugees and survivors in the Norrköping area from 1945 as well as lists of graves of Holocaust survivors in Norrköping between 1945 and 1961 (‘Flyktinggravar’) along with nine photographs of such graves and some assorted documents relating to the refugee aid. There are also spread out individual records in other volumes in the archive. For instance, in the volume B1 there are drafts and copies of letters sent by the members of the boards and other community officials from the years 1895–1982 and E1 and E2 incoming letters concerning various aspects of the community’s activities from 1854 to 1998 are preserved. Some of these letters deal with Holocaust related topics such as refugee aid, relief and the rehabilitation of survivors.

Conditions Governing Access

Access to the collection is restricted to academic and genealogical research. Permission is required and should be obtained in advance from Föreningen Norrköpings Synagogas Vänner through the mediation of Stadsarkivet i Norrköping (City Archive of Norrköping).

Rules and Conventions

EHRI Guidelines for Description v.1.0